Protecting yourself
There are a few
simple steps you can take which can really help protect against
heart disease.
Stay at a healthy weight
Eat a healthy balanced diet and
keep physically active.
Being overweight or obese is a risk factor on its own, and makes
you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes which for women
increases your risk of developing heart disease by 3 to 5
times.
Aim for steady, long term weight loss, and be aware of your
shape. If you’re apple shaped you’re more at risk of developing
heart disease than if you're pear shaped.
Avoid too much salt and saturated fat
A balanced diet will help to keep your heart
healthy,too much salt can increase
your blood pressure and too much saturated
fat your cholesterol levels, both are risk factors
for getting heart disease.
Quick tips
- Quit smoking - you’re nearly twice as likely
to have a heart attack if you
smoke.
- Keep active - at least 30 minutes
of moderate activity 5 days a
week to help keep your heart healthy.
- Keep stress under control - stressful situations can leave us indulging
in unhealthy habits.
Other risk factors
There are some factors that you can't do
anything about, but being aware of them can still really help.
Your family history
If your father, mother, brother or sister developed heart
disease at a young age (under 65 for women, and under 55 for men),
you may be at increased risk.
Your age
The older you get, the more likely you are to develop heart
disease. Women lose the heart protective effect of their hormones
after menopause, and HRT does not appear to have the same
protective effect. So if you’re over 40, call
your doctor’s surgery and book in for an NHS Health
Check. It will be helpful if you take the results of
your lifestyle check with you.
Your ethnicity
Women from certain ethnic groups have a
higher risk. For example, in England and Wales, women from
certain South Asian groups are more than twice as
likely to die from heart disease early, compared to other
women.
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